Although smoke detectors are there in homes to monitor constantly and alert immediately by blinking red after detecting an act of fire, it can even blink red without detecting a fire act.
If you aren’t well aware of the reasons, at those moments you certainly would want to know why your smoke detector is blinking red.
Keep going through the explanations added ahead to learn the answer behind such an act of a smoke detector.
Why Is My Smoke Detector Blinking Red?
When a smoke detector is blinking red, it usually indicates there’s a fire or it has detected the existing smoke after a fire. It can also mean that the smoke detector is old and not working properly, it’s low on battery, there’s a power outage or power failure, a faulty light switch, or overload.
The most possible reasons behind a smoke detector blinking red have been explicitly explained and put together in a list below for you to understand the reasons correctly. Read through the list to learn.
There Is A Fire:
Most typically, the smoke detector will start blinking red when it will detect a fire act in the house.
And by “there is a fire”, it’s meaning that when there is smoke in the house due to fire, like when you are cooking on a gas stove and it’s spreading smoke all over the house. In those situations, the smoke detector will detect smoke and blink red.
Smoke After Effects:
Smoke as well as the particles that are already in the air are likely to linger in the house for quite a long period even if the smoke alarm went off.
And still, the smoke detector could sense the particles in the air and going to blink red while indicating that the smoke isn’t gone yet from the house.
Old Smoke Detector:
A smoke detector can blink red without any valid reason when it has gotten old enough
Generally, homeowners tend to change the smoke detector after every 10 years as by that time, the smoke detector starts to malfunction. Thus, after this period or quite a few years, the smoke detector may start going bad and blink red due to malfunction.
It’s Low On Battery:
When a smoke detector is very low on battery or the batteries are about to expire, it will blink red even if there isn’t any smoke or other reason, and it’s another apparent reason.
A Power Failure:
If there’s a power failure such as a short circuit has happened in the wiring, a smoke detector can blink red.
A Power Outage:
A power outage due to heavy storms, short circuit in the house’s wiring, or an electric issue with the smoke detector can make the smoke detector blink red.
Faulty Light Switch:
Faulty light switches, especially in an old home or in a home with wooden floors are prone to cause the smoke detector to blink red.
Overload:
When. A lot of electronic appliances are functioning together, there might be an overload in the power which can cause the smoke detector to blink red expiring actual reason.
What Does It Mean When A Smoke Detector Blinks Red?
When a smoke detector blinks red often it means danger, however, there could be other reasons as well, and below some of those reasons are listed as well as explained.
The Smoke Detector Is Operational:
Almost all of the brands utilize the flashing red LED light of a smoke detector to indicate that the smoke detector is functioning properly. However, the LED light won’t be flashing red constantly, rather it’ll flash every 45 seconds to one minute max.
Expiring Batteries:
Most smoke detectors notify about expiring batteries by blinking red LED light accompanied by beeping or chipping sound.
Thus, if you notice that your smoke detector is blinking red every minute accompanied by a beeping sound, it simply means the batteries are expiring and you are required to replace them.
Requires Maintenance:
Another common meaning of a smoke detector blinking red LED light is that the device is in a need of maintenance.
And the most potential reasons behind this could be a too old smoke detector, the sensor isn’t functioning properly, it needs cleaning, or you weren’t paying attention to its regular maintenance.
Dust/Dirt:
Dust or dirt inside the smoke detector’s cover can certainly cause a malfunction in the smoke detector that will make the device blink red light.
So if you notice your smoke detector blinking red, it simply can mean that it’s time for you to clean the accumulated dust/dirt.
Also, sometimes if there is excessive dust in the air, a smoke detector tends to pick up on dust particles from the air along with picking up smoke. As a result, excessive dust particles make the smoke detector go confused and the device starts to blink red.
Why Is My Smoke Detector Blinking Red Every 10, 13, 15, 20, 30, & 45 Seconds?
When the smoke detector is blinking red every 10 seconds, it could mean that the device is still responding to the smoke after-effects. Also, if it blinks after every 10-15 seconds, it means it currently is in a momentary desensitized condition.
Your smoke detector tends to blink every 13 seconds if dust has piled up inside the device’s cover.
If your smoke detector is filled with an expiring battery/low battery, it’s going to blink a red LED light between every 30 seconds gap.
And lastly, when your smoke detector is blinking red LED light every 45 seconds, this means the smoke detector is active and functioning properly. It’s normal.
Why Is My Smoke Detector Blinking Red After Changing The Battery? Why Is My Smoke Detector Blinking Red But No Sound?
Due to 3 possible reasons, your smoke detector is blinking red even after you have changed the battery, and those reasons are briefly described below.
Faulty Smoke Detector:
If your smoke detector is a battery model one and it has been blinking red even after you have replaced the old battery with the new one, it could indicate that the smoke detector itself is faulty one and malfunctioning.
Bad Battery:
The smoke detector sometimes can keep on blinking red if the date of the changed battery has passed already and it’s not usable anymore.
Improperly Installed Battery:
Regardless of a battery model or powered by both power and battery model, a smoke detector will surely keep on flashing red LED light if the new battery isn’t properly installed inside the device.
When your smoke detector is responding to the smoke after-effects, you will notice it blink red LED light with absolutely no beeping or chirping sound.
Also, it means that the smoke detector is in a momentary desensitized situation, thus, it will not make any sound rather will just blink red to react to the smoke after-effects.
When Should You Be Concerned By A Smoke Detector Blinking Red Light?
Well, there are certain situations when you seriously should be concerned by your smoke detector’s blinking red LED light. Below such 2 situations are deciphered briefly.
When The Blinking Red Light Is Stable:
When your smoke detector’s sensor has sensed some smoke around the house and the smoke alarm isn’t assigned to go off until it’s reset, you should be concerned because the device has gone into a stable situation and will not turn off within 45 seconds-1 minute.
When The Blinking Red Light Is Accompanied By Beeping Sound:
If the blinking red light of the smoke detector is accompanied by an alarming beeping or chirping sound, you really should be worried because it’s not an ordinary issue.
It can mean either your smoke detector is alerting you about smoke or its battery is going to expire soon. And if the sound lingers for 5 minutes or more, call an expert.
How Do I Turn Off The Red Light On My Smoke Detector? How To Fix It?
A step-by-step guide to help you in turning off the red light on your smoke detector has been added below. You can follow the steps to fix the issue temporarily.
Press The Silence Button:
To turn off/fix the blinking red LED light n a smoke detector manually, there is a silence button, you have to press that button for 10-15 seconds.
Push The Reset Button:
If your smoke detector is a hardwired one, find the reset button and press it for 20 seconds.
Wait Till You Hear A Beep:
Now, just wait for a few moments until the device makes a beeping sound to notify it’s back to normal condition.
Final Thoughts
A smoke detector blinking red is a sign of a fire act or smoke after-effect. However, the other reasons include expiring batteries, a dusty chamber, lack of maintenance, an old smoke detector, a power failure, overload, etc. Don’t panic until the blinking is constant/accompanied by a beeping sound.